Messengers/chat-rooms are the most widely used web-applications. But I often wonder why:
1. You have no idea who the other person is.
a. He could be a pedophile romancing with a teenage from a prison cell.
b. A loser impersonating as someone rich and famous.
c. Or a next door neighbor messing with you.
d. Or a necromancer/cannibal who believes in sacrifices and trying different kinds of exotic meats.
2. It is a complete waste of time. You can spend 5 minutes just to say hi
3. The most important aspect of communication is the Tone of the Voice, facial expressions and body language. Whenever someone asks you “how do you do?” there is a standard reply. But it the enthusiasm which tells the real story.
4. Meeting people whom you meet online is often a disaster. In a chat-room you can be very close friends and communicate endlessly. But in real life you are just 2 strangers. And also the probability of meeting someone who stays across the globe is next to zero.
Then my friend gave me a wonderful reply
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“Therapeutic anonymity”.
Essentially we have tons of emotions bottled up. The only we can get our mind cleared up is by communicating.
Physical world is a very small place. You tell it to one person and everybody knows (even those you do not want to know) But online world is a lot more secure.
It is like a modern day confession box. You do not know who is hearing your rants and the other person never asks your name an identity. Hence the inhibitions and barriers are lowered. Hence online friends communicate at a very deep level and understand each other much better. Guys who never talk about their personal life and their fears to even their closest friends gossip like sisies online.
Do not believe me:
Next time you see your office boy, security guard or a waiter, just ask him his Name. He will immediately get defensive and start blurting out explanations and apologies. (Even though nothing happened)
You know the guy by face; you know his workplace. So what has he to lose?
Still as long as you do not know the other person by name /identity you communicate better.
Most of the self-development books say the person’s name is the most beautiful and sweetest sounding noise known to mankind. Yet many of the writers have a pen-name which is nowhere similar to their real-life name. That is why they are able to express deeper emotions and more vivid thoughts. Similarly most people hide behind their an online name/alias to reveal themselves better.
5 replies on “Why Chat Rooms are Popular”
If your boss comes to know that you’re paedophilic, he’d think twice before hiring you lest you “assault” his kids. It’s natural for someone to not furnish hs details and to suspect when someone wants these personal details. Why ?
Because it’s blasphemous for a person if someone in his real life discovers his online identity. Google is always there, you see. Even otherwise, offices might be keeping track of the websites that you visit.
with orkut+ search + gmail + youtube + blogspot. google actually has become a gateway to all your online interactions. I am sure they are trying to profiling each person and figure our correlations between the fantasies which one expresses in the online world and the real life stuff.
But still as a common man… I strongly believe that that the American Government is not reading my mails, tapping my phone or photographing me. My IP address is not being tracked and nobody knows where I live.
Lol..nice analysis!!
“Therapeutic anonymity” that works though..somekind of therapy which happens sub consciously..
Orkut was a brilliant idea in that sense that exploits lack of communication and open mindedness..nice one..
P.S..am not borat..this is my own snap with a fake mouche…… 😛
[…] heard of someone literally “Rolling on the floor and laughing”? In the safety of our cyber cafes, how often use expressions, and words which we know we would have never said in real […]
hi iam nilakshan 21 male i like to make friends……..